Welcome To Kindergarten!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome Welcome to a new school year! My name is Erin Moore and I will be your child’s Kinder-garten teacher. I have always had a strong interest in learning and helping others learn. I was born and raised in West Scranton where I attended and graduated from public school. I currently hold a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from

the University of Scranton and a master’s degree in Edu-cational Development and Strategies from Wilkes Uni-versity. This is my 13th year teaching Kindergarten and I highly enjoy doing so. I look forward to creating a new classroom family with you and your child(ren).

Arrival School begins everyday at 8:10. We begin working right away. Late bell rings at 8:20. After this time, students will be marked tardy. Excessive tardi-ness hinders students progress for the day and will re-

sult in your child running behind on assignments and possibly having to make up the morning work as a homework assignment (even if it is not a regular homework night). Excessive tardiness will also result in action taken by the school office. The first few days of school, parents are allowed to bring their child to the classroom. After the first week, children are to line up outside the front doors until their grade is called by a school employee. Please note that free breakfast begins at 7:50 for those who would like to participate and the en-trance is the door located on the playground side of the building.

Dismissal School is dismissed at 2:25 on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. School is dismissed at 1:55 every Tuesday. Please arrive a few minutes early when picking up your child from school. Children often feel upset when someone is not there to pick them up and Kindergarten is the first class to be dismissed out the front doors. Students must be picked up at the dismissal time. If a parent or guardian is not present at the time of

dismissal, the student will be brought to the school office and a parent or guardian will need to come in to the building to sign their child out in the office log book. Fre-quent late pick ups will result in action taken by the school office.

Attendance Daily attendance is essential for your child’s learning to successfully progress. The school district is very strict with their attendance policy. Repeti-tion and routine is very important at this age in order for your child to retain information learned and any time away can be disrupting to your child’s progress. If he or she is sick, please call the school office to let them know and send a written ex-cuse to me when your child returns. Students can check the Make Up Work tray upon returning to school. Please help he or she complete the work and return to school promptly.

Class Rules There are 5 classroom rules. Please read them and talk to your child about their meaning. It is very important your child understands the rules and abides by them in order for effec-tive learning to take place. (Please sign and return a copy of the rules contract and keep the other copy to review at home.)

1. Use kind words and actions2. Respect other people and property3. Listen and follow the directions4. Keep your area and the classroom clean and neat5. Do your personal best work

Behavior Chart To encourage students to follow the rules so they are ready to learn we will be using a clip chart. The chart has seven levels: Outstanding, Great Job, Good Day, Ready to Learn, Think About It, Teacher’s Choice, Parent Contact. Each student re-ceives a clip to attach to the chart. Each day they start fresh on Ready to Learn. A student’s clip travels up and down the chart based upon his or her behavior. If the student is making good choices, the clip moves up. Any clip on Ready to Learn or above earns your child points they can exchange for a prize when the classroom store is open for shopping. If the student is not making good choices the clip moves down with warnings, loss of a privilege or parent contact. The chart is designed so students are set up for success everyday. Information on the chart can be found at newmanagement.com

School Folder Please use the school folder daily. Use the inside of pockets of find papers that may stay at home or papers that need to be completed and returned to school. This is the only folder that is needed. If your child has a special folder you can keep work to be kept at home in it.

Homework Homework will be given 2 times a week (Tuesday and Thursday nights). The only exception is a weekly word practice log that is sent home on Monday and returned on Friday. Each night the student reads a few words and a parent signs for each night. Students can also read to you the

Take Home Books once a day for the week. Please make sure your child does his or her homework and returns it on the next school day using the school folder. If your child neglects to do his or her homework, he or she may clip down a space or loose a center activity to make up an assignment. In addition, please try to read to your child everyday.

Written Excuses If your child is sick due to illness, please call the school at 570-348-3683 to report your child off

sick. You will need to send in a written excuse for every ab-sence. An excuse from a parent will be accepted, but a doc-tor’s excuse is preferred (please see district handbook for at-tendance policy). 3 days unexcused will result in action taken by the school office.

Newsletters A weekly newsletter will be sent home in order to inform you of what we are doing in the classroom and to

help you be involved in your child’s learning process. We will be looking for parents and fam-ily members throughout the year to visit us on different occa-sions (to describe an occupation, read to us, help us with a project, etc.) A weekly reading newsletter will also be sent home so you know the skills we are focusing on that week.

Snack Please send a snack (such as animal crackers, pretzels, fruit, or anything that could be consumed in a 15 minute period) and a drink daily for your child to have as a morning snack. EVEN IF YOUR CHILD QUALI-FIES FOR FREE LUNCH, THE SCHOOL DOES NOT PROVIDE SNACK. Candy and soda are not permitted.

Milk Milk can be purchased daily for 35 cents. It can also be sent in on Monday for the week or paid in advance (as long as it is sent in

an envelope with the child’s name on it and we will keep track of it for your child). It is easy for children to keep track of their money daily if they have a change purse or container to keep it in.

Lunch Lunch will be down in the cafeteria (K - 2 eat on first lunch). Students may bring their lunch from home or may buy a school lunch for $1.40. You may be eligible for free or

reduced lunch so check the lunch form in the district hand-book and return as soon as possible. You may want to speak with lunch per-

sonnel and put money on your child’s lunch account. Each student is asked to memorize their student id number which is used to keep track of their account when they buy a school lunch. Any money sent to school for lunch must be sent in a marked envelope (with your child’s name and amount enclosed) and sealed.

Birthdays Birthdays will be recognized in school. Your child will be allowed to choose a birthday hat to wear for the day if he or she desires. You may send in a treat for the class, but please do not send a cake (it is to hard to cut and pass out within our 15 minute snack time). The treat should be a healthy snack (please refer to the student handbook pol-

icy). Summer birthdays could be celebrated as a 1/2 birthday or sometime in June (just let me know). If you wish to hand out birthday invitations in school, it is only permitted if you are inviting every child in the class. There may be up to 27 chil-dren in our classroom.

Rest Time Students will be given about 15 minutes for rest/quiet time af- ter lunch recess. I usually play classical

music during this time to help the students relax and recharge for the afternoon activities.

Recess After lunch, K-2 will have recess everyday on the playground, weather permitting.

Emergency In case of emergency, please make sure your infor-mation is current on your child’s emergency card. All phone numbers must be current and able to be contacted.

Please feel free to contact me at the school by phone or by email

The school phone number is 570-348-3683. If I am teaching, please leave a message and a phone number you could be reached at and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

My email address is erin.moore@scrsd.org I will return any messages to you as soon as I can.

Thank you! I look

forward to a great year with you and your child!